Geto Boys Rapper Dies At 52

According to Rolling Stone, the late rapper, who was a founding member of the Houston rap group Geto Boys, passed away on Sunday (June 9) after battling pancreatic cancer. "Bushwick Bill passed away peacefully this evening at 9:35 p.m. He was surrounded by his immediate family," his publicist Dawn P. told RS. "There were incorrect previous reports that he had passed away this morning. We are looking into doing a public memorial at a later date. His family appreciates all of the prayers and support and are asking for privacy at this time."

The later rapper, born Richard Shaw, recently revealed that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. In an interview with TMZ earlier this year, he recalled receiving the diagnosis. "[The doctors said] 'we see a mass on your pancreas and we can’t understand it. It’s not alcohol, it’s not sugar, it’s not diabetes.' They went through all kinds of stuff. And finally, by February 8th, they said it was stage 4 [pancreatic] cancer," he said, per RS. "I figure keeping it to myself is not really helping nobody, and I’m not really afraid of dying because if anyone knows anything about me from [his 1992 song] ‘Ever So Clear,’ I died and came back already in June 1991, so I know what it’s like on the other side," Bushwick Bill added, referring to the incident where he accidentally shot himself in the eye during an arguing with his girlfriend.

As fans know, Bushwick Bill, who was born with dwarfism, and his two group members —Willie D and Scarface – were a major influence for southern hip-hop and "horrorcore genre," with their hits "The World Is a Ghetto," "Mind Playing Tricks on Me," and "Da*n It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta."